Our dogs can truly change our lives, but as today’s guest blogger, Michelle Nebel of Words to Spare, points out, loving our dogs has a LOT to do with our faith. What a great reminder for those of who simply MUST LOVE DOGS! ❤️
Also, don’t forget to check out the complete interview with Michelle that we did over on the Scattered Woman Facebook page! We go into SO much more than one post can cover. It’s WELL worth a watch!
Without further ado, here’s Michelle!
This morning, I was thinking about my Bible and my dog. Hold on, don’t put me on trial for heresy yet. Hear me out. 😜
Must Love Dogs
Imagine if you said you loved dogs, so you decided to devote your life to studying them. You could set out to read every book ever written about dogs. You could study their DNA under microscopes and analyze all sorts of minute details about canine lifespans. You could take courses on doggie nutrition and seminars on puppy behavior.
At the end of your studies, you would know an awful lot, but you wouldn’t have any real evidence that you loved dogs.
On the other hand, imagine if you said you loved dogs… and then you went out and fell head over heels in love with one.
That’s what happened to me with this dog.
This is Piper Lou Williams Nebel. She’s a full-blooded, AKC-registered, silver female Weimaraner. I’ve never been as crazy about an animal as I am about her. I don’t have any kind of canine credentials, but I’ve studied this dog.
Oh, not clinically or academically — I’ve studied her by loving her. I can tell when she’s not feeling well, and I even know what she’s thinking most of the time.
When she pouts because I’m petting one of the other dogs or pushes into the middle when my husband hugs me in the kitchen, I know she’s jealous. She steals my oven mitts and hides them in her dog bed, because they’re mine (and they smell like food). She wags her entire hind end when she sees me grab her leash, and she curls up like a cinnamon roll beside me when I read on the sofa. I love every wiggle of her tail and quirk of her lips and every… okay, to be honest, I don’t love the dead animals she brings me sometimes. But I do love her fierce hunting instincts!
I’m head over heels for this dog. I talk to her in a ridiculously high-pitched baby voice. I buy her overpriced treats. I reversed a five-year “no dogs on the furniture” policy for her!
Prove It
See, there’s evidence of the love I claim. Anybody who meets me learns pretty quickly that I love this dog. It’s clear. Not because I can spout off memorized facts, but because everything from my actions to my tone of voice to the look on my face gives it away.
Now, why on earth did my dog make me think of the Bible?
I think it’s because there have been seasons in my life where I approached my Bible like it was just another subject to be studied. A topic to master, a test to be graded on. I’ve spent time with God’s Word as if I was back in high school, prepping for an AP exam.
There are places in scripture where we are instructed to study and to be prepared, that’s true. (If you want to read it for yourself, 2 Timothy 2:15 and 1 Peter 3:15 come to mind.) But it seems to me there’s far more telling us to abide in Christ, to write God’s Word on our hearts, and to make the word of the Lord a light to our path.
I’m not disputing the need for Christians to be diligent in the way we familiarize ourselves with God’s Word. What I want to point out is the motivation behind our studies.
The Heart of the Matter
Remember when Jesus preached his Sermon on the Mount? He kept telling the people, “You have heard it said,” and He’d remind them of an old, familiar law. Then He’d add: “But I tell you…” (Things like: ‘You have heard it said, do not murder. But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother is liable to judgment.’) Each time He did that, the common theme was that the Lord is more concerned with where our heart rests than merely in our actions.
I want to study Christ. But I don’t want to study like a frantic scholar who’s afraid to fail. I want to study Jesus like a woman who’s falling in love. I want to learn more and more about Him—not because there might be a pop quiz later—but because that’s what you do with the people (and dogs) you adore.
I want to study Jesus like a woman who’s falling in love. ~ Michelle Nebel of Words to Spare Share on XWhat does that look like?
For starters, I think it’s hallmarked by grace. When you’ve had a tough night with your young children and you just cannot wake up for a pre-dawn cup of coffee and Scripture — give yourself grace. When you find the perfect fifteen minutes for prayer between loads of laundry or client meetings… and it gets interrupted by a kid or co-worker… give them grace.
And after grace, I think it’s a lot like any other relationship. It’s about showing up. It’s about listening. God has given us so many beautiful details about Himself — what He loves, what makes Him angry or sad, what He’s accomplished — in His word. If you think back to the beginnings of a friendship or a romance, you probably spent a lot of time learning those things about the other person. After a while, you could pretty well guess what your bestie or partner would say or do in any new situation, based on what you had learned about them.
Of course, one thing that sets apart this relationship is the presence of the Holy Spirit. God has promised us that believers aren’t alone — He sent a comforter, a helper, to be with us and to “lead us in all truth.”
It’s Evident
So, if my love-motivated study of Piper created evidence of how much I love her, our study of our Savior should also make our love for him clear and unmistakable.
What’s the proof? You know how they say sometimes people start to look like their dogs? (Hopefully, my gray hair isn’t enough to make me resemble Piper, yet!) Well, the more we love Christ, the more we are like Him.
That means the evidence of your love isn’t in how many Bible verses you have memorized. It’s not found in your ability (or lack of ability) to debate really difficult theology like a professor. It’s not in how many days in a row you posted a perfect Instagram pic of your Bible with a coffee cup on a weathered wooden porch.
The evidence is actually pretty simple. It’s you—your regular life, with the people who know you, in the place where you’re planted—you, overflowing with the characteristics of Jesus. Meeting folks with grace and forgiveness in your voice. Showing love to folks who society calls unlovable. Doing what you can for justice and mercy. Weeping with those who weep and rejoicing with those who rejoice.
If my love-motivated study of my dog created evidence of how much I love her, our study of our Savior should also make our love for Him clear and unmistakable. ~ Michelle Nebel of Words to Spare Share on XWhat About You?
God — Father, Son, and Spirit — loves you. What’s more, He wants you to love Him. He wants you to be head-over-heels, ridiculously devoted to Him and His ways.
What prompts the time you spend with God? Busy, working moms — whether they’re WAHMs, SAHMs, WOHMs, or moms juggling multiple acronyms plus a side-hustle! — can be tempted to turn quiet time into just another to-do to check off our lists.
When you reflect on the attitude in your heart that brings you to your Bible, what’s your motivation? Is it just an academic study? A quick habit because you know you’re “supposed to,” like popping a vitamin? Or maybe, just maybe, you pick up God’s Word and feel the warmth and excitement of meeting with someone you love.
This is my prayer for you:
“May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”
~ 2 Thessalonians 3:5 ~
If your motivation has been dry and academic, or rushed and obligatory, ask God to direct your heart to His love. Notice the change inside yourself when you start making time for prayer or the scriptures just because you love being with Him. Discover how the proof of your love will overflow into your daily life at home, at work, and everywhere in between. If the world is supposed to recognize us as Christians by our LOVE, let’s be full of the evidence.
Michelle Nebel is a writer of uplifting women’s fiction woven with threads of faith, grace, and Southern hospitality. She lives in Kentucky with three kids, three dogs, her college sweetheart husband, and a to-read pile as tall as she is. While working on her debut novel, she blogs at Words to Spare about family, faith, and things that make her laugh. You can also find her on Instagram or Twitter. 
As a former University Resident Director, Career Counselor, Certified Personality Trainer, and high school Spanish teacher, Laura has quite the “scattered” background — with one underlying theme: education! She writes to teach and inspire women on topics related to faith, family, and lifework. She is also a resume writer, specializing in resumes for moms, career changers, and new graduates.
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